Mina's birthday!

Mina turned three and decided that she wanted a Thomas the train cake. Luckily, her Grandma Melanie is a cake making extraordinaire and let me borrow supplies. 

Our funny 3 year old:

We went to Target and Mina wanted to pose with Elsa and Anna. 

I worked on her cake using a mold from Melanie and decorated it with frosting. I am not trained at all but Mina didn't seem to mind!

My kitchen was a mess afterwards!

I used our existing decorations and spruced up the front room. 

We invited our families over for cake and ice cream that evening. It was raining so we needed to keep the party indoors. 

Mina seemed a little shy when we sang "Happy Birthday."

Our dessert spread:

Mina had several "firsts" after she turned 3 including...

Her first dentist appointment

Her first day of play school:

And her first day of preschool:

Our little girl is growing up much too fast. 

Summer Fun

Seeing how I haven't blogged in a long time I figure I should do a catch-up post. 

This past summer my sister visited with her family. It was so fun to have all the cousins together!

Mina and Parker held hands as they walked in the museum. They were so cute together!

Magnus playing peek-a-boo with his Grandpa. 

President Magnus Beardall?

Mina and Parker participated in the story time. 

A beautiful view of the Ogden Temple. 

Baby Kate!

"President Mina! President Mina"

The Keller grandkids

We visited the Treehouse Museum and then we ate ice cream at Farr's!

Magnus went swimming this past summer too. I don't think he enjoyed it!

On Pioneer Day we hiked Donut Falls with my parents, Jordan, Lindsey and Kate. James had to work so he missed out on the fun. 

After the hike we went to the Beardall's for a BBQ. James joined us there. 

Snow cones!

Magnus' First Birthday

We celebrated Magnus' birthday the Sunday after he turned one. We "celebrated" his actual birthday with a doctor's appointment complete with a blood draw and shots. Sorry, kid!

I made Magnus' "Magnus" banner with card stock and ribbon. I realized he needed a name banner a week or so before his birthday. 

The day before his birthday, Mags had his 1 year check up. 

He's kind of a small kid but he's growing and hitting his milestones. He started walking around 10 1/2 months. 

Back to the party...

I made this banner last year for a baby shower; I think it works for any party. 

We had Cafe Rio style sweet pork with sides. Our kitchen seems so much bigger when the table is pushed in the corner!

We decorated the backyard with lanterns, honeycombs and tissue paper pompoms. I was glad that I held on to the pompoms from last year!

Melanie made another incredible cake that tasted as good as it looked. I wasn't sure about a "theme" for the party so I just focused on colors. 

I found a few pictures that I liked and then tried to combine it into a design. To say that Melanie delivered would be an understatement, she knocked it out of the park! She made meringue clouds and coated them with luster dust. It was amazing!

Magnus opened his presents after we ate dinner. 

Magnus wasn't so sure about the candle. 

Luckily, he had help. 

The top layer was a smash cake so we let the birthday boy have at it. 

Woofie Facetimed with Hilary:

He got into it a little bit more. 

Unfortunately, he decided after a few bites to dump his entire cake on the ground. I was a little premature when I took off his outfit. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGNUS!!!!

The next day was James' birthday. I had upgraded his name banner so I swapped out the names. 

We celebrated with a strawberry rhubarb pie, as per tradition. 

I attempted to get creative with our large collection of cookie cutters. 

The crust was seriously flakey, just look at it!

We went to Home Depot and bought ceiling fans. They have been WONDERFUL!